Green Connect manager, Jess Moore, said it was important to help youth become employable through training and a "taste of what it's like in the real world".

Jamie hoped the federal government would recommit funding to the partnership brokers program, which runs out at the end of the year.

"It's good to get experience for when I leave school and find a job - either landscaping or joining the defence force," he said.

He went through a difficult period when his parents split two years ago, but has pulled through and applied himself at school.

"I'm putting my head down more, because I want to get a good job," he said.

Taking part in Green Connect's program inspired him to break the cycle of disadvantage and the negative influences of some of his peers. "It matured me a lot more," Jamie, who is in his HSC year, said.

Now, he has bought a ute and plans to get more experience landscaping, before building his own business.